The present invention relates, in general, to an electronic ignition device and, more particularly, to an electronic ignition device wherein its battery power source can be readily and easily changed.
Electronic ignition devices powered by a 9 volt battery or a battery having a non-cylindrical configuration are utilized on gas grills in order to ignite the burners contained within the grill. These electronic ignition devices are usually mounted on the underside of the grill and are not visible unless one looks under the grill. The battery power source for these electronic ignition devices is usually received within a recess provided within the device. The depth of the recess is such that only a very small portion of the battery protrudes outwardly from the ignition device. Since the electronic ignition device is mounted on the underside of the gas grill and is not visible unless one looks under the grill, battery replacement is a difficult task since the person replacing the battery has to go under the grill and grip the end of the battery that is protruding from the recess in order to remove same. Unfortunately, the portion of the battery that is protruding from the recess is quite small thus making the gripping of same difficult. Usually, the person removing the battery has to use some type of gripping device, such as a pair of pliers, to grip the end of the battery to remove same. After the person removes the battery from the recess, a new battery must be inserted into the recess. Since the recess is xe2x80x9cblindxe2x80x9d, the polarity of the terminals within the recess is difficult to determine. Therefore, the person inserting the new battery into the recess has no way of determining whether the orientation of the new battery is correct for polarity purposes. Thus, there is a significant chance that the new battery will be inserted into the recess with the improper polarity requiring the battery to be removed and reoriented before being reinserted into the recess. All in all, the replacement of a battery in the present prior art electronic ignition devices utilized on gas grills is a very cumbersome, frustrating and time consuming process. In addition, since a portion of the battery in presently available electronic ignition devices protrudes outwardly therefrom, these ignition devices are not sealed to the environment.
In view of the foregoing, it has become desirable to develop an electronic ignition device that is mounted on the underside of a gas grill and in which the battery power source for same can be easily removed and replaced without any concern as to the polarity of the battery, and which is sealed to the environment.
The present invention solves the problems associated with prior art electronic ignition devices and other problems by providing an electronic ignition device that mounts on the underside of a gas grill and in which the battery power source for same can be readily replaced without the use of tools and wherein the polarity of the replacement battery is of no concern. The electronic ignition device of the present invention is comprised of a housing having a recess therein for the receipt of the battery and a cap having a rotatable clip therein to hold the old battery during the removal process from the recess and to hold the new battery during the insertion process into the recess. The cap has female threads provided therein which mate with male threads on the housing of the electronic ignition device. The clip and battery remain substantially stationary within the housing of electronic device as the cap member is threadably received thereon. The terminals on the battery contact electrical contacts within the housing of the electronic ignition device after the battery has been inserted therein. The electronic ignition device contains electrical circuitry to compensate for the polarity of the battery. In this manner, the polarity of the battery is of no concern when the battery is inserted into the housing of the ignition device. An O-ring is provided between the cap and the housing to provide a seal between same.